The Revd Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson, General Assembly Moderator-Elect 2022-2023 of the United Reformed Church, brings together the themes of truth, identity and racial-justice in this reflection for Epiphany.
Mary’s child
baptised into reconciliation and inclusion,
justice and truth
Immersed in water and fire,
Heavens open. God’s voice booming
Dove descending. Immanuel rising
Breaking-through. Setting us free
Talking truth to us. Moving us forward
Receiving our gifts. Speaking wisdom
Constant star. Living Word
Embodied Christ. Curious Messiah
Asking – who do people say I am?”
People tend to identify us according to how we behave and the examples we set. What we experience through mind, body and spirit simultaneously, make us distinct human bodies. Our cultures and histories, what we believe and who we take wisdom from, help shape the way we are.
In other words, our teachings, learning, cultures and histories provide the contexts through which we think, believe, understand the world, do theology, practice our faith, make ethical decisions, read Scripture, and build relationships.
If, like Jesus, we ask – who do people say I am?, there would likely be gender, ethnic, cultural, religious, and learning considerations. What we do, what communities we associate with, our sexuality, and our theological outlooks would also be important to consider.
As people who serve God with us through a denomination that describes itself as a multicultural church with an intercultural habit that embraces an anti-racist identity, what if we turn that question inward, and ask ourselves – who am I? Then, in thinking about how we identify ourselves, what if we try to discover how we feel about X or y issue, and why it affects us the way it does?
Discovering our true identity is a gradual and often painful process. However, as people who serve a living God, we have a responsibility to do so, lest it impacts negatively on our decision-making abilities, and how we relate to each other. For we will surely find ourselves in a struggle to maintain healthy relationships and habits.
It is in breaking through, becoming free, speaking truth to power, our listening to the voice of God, following the star, bringing gifts of wisdom, and owning – or owning up to who we are, that we can truly proclaim that our Liberating, Loving, Living, Creator, Abba, Giver of Life God, Immanuel – is with us!
Image: One by the Revd Elizabeth Gray-King.